Brain Rot: Is your phone destroying your attention span?

Brain Rot: Is your phone destroying your attention span?

Author: ABC Australia September 13, 2025 Duration: 29:35
Everyone seems to have a hunch that their phone is destroying their attention span, but is there any science to back it up? In episode one of Brain Rot, we’re doing our best to focus on the topic of attention for a full 25 minutes — and find out what's actually happening in your brain every time your phone buzzes or dings. Is brain rot a real thing? Or just another moral panic? And how do you know when your own screen use has gone too far? This episode originally aired on Brain Rot, a series of the ABC podcast Science Friction. Sana will be back with all-new episodes of All in the Mind in mid-October. Guests: Anna Seirian CEO, Internet People Dr Mark Williams Professor, Macquarie University; Cognitive neuroscientist Michoel Moshel Clinical Neuropsychologist Registrar; Phd Candidate, Macquarie University Professor Marion Thain Professor of Culture and Technology, University of Edinburgh; Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute Credits: Presenter: Ange Lavoipierre Producer: Fiona Pepper Senior Producer: James Bullen Sound Engineer: Brendan O'Neill More information: Neuropsychological Deficits in Disordered Screen Use Behaviours: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis - Neuropsychology Review, 2024. Do we have your attention? How people focus and live in the modern information environment - King's College London, 2022. Internet addiction-induced brain structure and function alterations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity studies - Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2023. You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to access the transcript for this episode, head to its original webpage.

Ever wondered what's really happening inside your head? Each week, All In The Mind from ABC Australia ventures into the complex landscape of human thought and feeling. This isn't just a dry science lecture; it's a thoughtful exploration of the experiences that shape us, hosted by curious minds who know how to tell a compelling story. You'll hear conversations that bridge the gap between scientific research and the messy reality of daily life, delving into topics as diverse as the mechanisms of memory, the challenges of breaking an addiction, or the ethical puzzles posed by artificial intelligence. The discussions are grounded and accessible, making the inner workings of the brain relevant to anyone interested in health, behaviour, or simply understanding themselves a little better. By tuning into this podcast, you join a community considering how our mental universe influences everything from our personal fitness to our social connections. It’s a weekly opportunity to pause and reflect on the fascinating forces-both biological and psychological-that drive what we do and who we are. The production brings together expert insights with genuine human stories, creating a space where complex ideas about the mind and behaviour are unpacked with clarity and depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

All In The Mind
Podcast Episodes
How to catch a liar (it's harder than you think) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:10
Rebecca figured out a brilliant way to catch her partner in a lie. It led to a career in forensic psychology… These days, Rebecca studies lie detection, and it turns out, people generally overestimate their ability to te…
Dealing with emotionally immature parents? We want your questions! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58
You might remember Dr Lindsay Gibson from our 2021 episode titled 'The damage done by emotionally immature parents (and how to heal)' — it was our most popular episode ever! Turns out a lot of you have emotionally immatu…
Confessing to a crime you didn't commit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:15
Imagine police are interrogating you over a crime you didn't commit. If you're innocent, you're safe, right? Wrong. Sometimes, being innocent can make you more likely to confess. How is that possible? In part two of our…
Can criminal profiling identify a killer? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:50
Criminal profiling promises a lot — being able to piece together a picture of a suspect through clues, intuition and psychology sounds great. But how reliable is it? In our first episode of Forensic, a four-part series u…
INTRODUCING — Forensic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08
Forget everything you’ve learned from crime dramas. Forensic is a new podcast series from All in the Mind on ABC Radio National that takes you behind the psychological tools used to solve crimes. Across four episodes, we…
Our millennia-long obsession with immortality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:05
Would you want to live forever? The rich and powerful certainly do. There are numerous examples throughout history of people going to extreme lengths in search of immortality. These days, it's Silicon Valley tech bros, t…
Pretty privilege, surgery stigma and the cosmetic procedure paradox [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:35
Cosmetic procedures aren't reserved for celebrities anymore - they're becoming more and more accessible for every day people. So if we're able to alter our looks or avoid the appearance of aging altogether, what impact d…
The psychology behind our moral outrage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:37
Politics, war, abortion, gun control — why do some topics make us so outraged? One theory is that our preoccupation with preventing harm is to blame. So today, we examine how humans developed morality, why we differ in w…